Getting Suckered Into War... Yet Again.

This August marks 17 years since MPV was founded, establishing an organization whose backbone is the freedom to think freely and to express these thoughts regardless how blasphemous it may sound to some. We pride ourselves in nurturing critical thinking, which we believe brings out the best in people and our communities. This civil discourse is the hallmark of MPV, which has allowed us to  nurture and create platforms for chapter leaders to independently build inclusive communities. 

I want to acknowledge this civil discourse as a core aspect of MPV’s work because in the past, we’ve received criticism for being  in the same room or at the same table “with the enemy”. I have been in plenty of rooms and conversed with many individuals who I vehemently disagree with, but I have always prioritized being in those spaces because it is here where I can ensure they hear my opinion. I have sat at a table with Israeli government officials and challenged them for withholding water for the property development at Rawabi as they spoke of “Palestine’s need to develop their own economy”. Or called them out for their blatant lies about the history of the region when they deny that prior to the creation of the state of Israel, Jewish, Christian and Muslim Palestinians lived together as one community. I did that to their faces and I will continue to do so because it is the responsibility of all those with privilege to use this privilege to take up space, even if it means being in that space “with the enemy”

This is more important than ever as Americans are getting suckered into an all out war in the Middle East, courtesy of our government’s unabashed support for  Israel, whose definition of peace is to assassinate the leader they are meant to  be negotiating peace with. Our foreign policy rooted in “freedom, liberty, and justice for all” is laughable if it wasn’t for the millions of lives at risk because of our hypocrisy.

Onward and upward…

 Ani Zonneveld,

President & Founder